Biofeedback in the Treatment of Headache and Other
Childhood Pain
Christiane Hermann and Edward B. Blanchard
Posted: September 2006 Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback; June 2002, Vol 27, No. 2

Since the first biofeedback studies on pediatric pain
were published in the early 1980s, most of the studies have focused
on the treatment of pediatric migraine. More recently, biofeedback
has also been evaluated in the treatment of tension headache in
children. Not surprisingly, most of what we know about the efficacy
and mechanisms of biofeedback in the treatment of children’s pain
problems concerns the treatment of childhood headache. In this
review, we provide a detailed summary of studies that have evaluated
biofeedback in the treatment of childhood headaches with an emphasis
on treatment outcome and maintenance of treatment success. Moreover,
findings and hypotheses with regard to the mechanisms that may mediate
the treatment effects of biofeedback are addressed. Finally, we
discuss specific issues relating to the treatment of pain in children
with biofeedback and outline future directions of research.